Why Nokia (NOK) Stock Is One of Today’s Biggest Pre-Market Movers

TLDR

• Nokia stock surged over 5% in pre-market trading on September 16, 2026
• Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $15 price target, implying ~44% upside from the prior close of $9.84
• Multiple telecom operators across four regions moved from evaluation to active AI-RAN field trials
• Nokia will rejoin the Euro STOXX 50 on September 21, 2026, replacing Volkswagen
• AI and Cloud orders hit €2.8 billion in Q2 2026, with roughly half expected to convert to revenue within 12 months

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Nokia (NOK) stock jumped more than 5% in pre-market trading on September 16, 2026, hitting around $10.35 from a prior close of $9.84, driven by a stack of company-specific catalysts landing at the same time.

Nokia Oyj, NOK

The headline driver was Nokia’s announcement that its AI-RAN technology is moving from early evaluation into active lab and live field trials with telecom operators across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Operators including A1 Group, Chunghwa Telecom, du, e&, Mobily, stc, TPG Telecom, and Zain Saudi are all now in active testing phases.

The AI-RAN platform is built in collaboration with NVIDIA’s Aerial RAN technology, giving Nokia a strong partner in the AI infrastructure buildout.

The night before, Rosenblatt analyst Mike Genovese initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $15 price target. That represents roughly 44% upside from the prior close. Genovese described Nokia’s Network Infrastructure segment as “quietly becoming one of the best-positioned optical assets in the AI buildout.”

The initiation pointed to hard numbers. Nokia’s Optical Networks revenue grew 20% year-over-year in Q2 2026. AI and Cloud revenue more than doubled in the same period.

AI and Cloud Orders Drive Momentum

AI and Cloud orders reached €2.8 billion in Q2 2026. Around half of that is expected to convert to revenue within the next twelve months, giving Nokia a visible near-term revenue pipeline.

Rosenblatt’s $15 price target is based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis. The firm credits roughly one-third of Nokia’s value to AI infrastructure and two-thirds to its Telco business. Fixed Networks and Mobile Infrastructure are viewed as low-single-digit growth businesses being managed for margin improvement.

Nokia is also ramping manufacturing capacity. Its San Jose fab comes online in Q4 2026. Pennsylvania test and packaging capacity is scaling up around ten times starting in Q3 2026. A third U.S. Indium Phosphide fab is being added at the NXP Chandler campus.

Nokia also announced a partnership with Telxius to deploy its ICE-X 800G coherent pluggable optics across terrestrial networks in Europe, the United States, and Latin America.

Euro STOXX 50 Re-Entry Adds Index Demand

Nokia is set to rejoin the Euro STOXX 50 blue-chip index on September 21, 2026, replacing Volkswagen. That move has been building index-driven buying pressure over recent sessions.

S&P Global Ratings upgraded its outlook on Nokia to positive from stable, citing rising demand from AI and cloud customers. The agency flagged a potential one-notch credit upgrade within 24 months if Nokia continues managing costs and capturing hyperscaler demand.

Nokia’s Q2 2026 earnings beat on profit but missed slightly on revenue. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.08, above the $0.06 estimate. Revenue was $5.51 billion against a $5.59 billion forecast.

The broader market was up modestly in pre-market on September 16, with the Nasdaq gaining 0.51%, underlining that Nokia’s move was driven by its own news rather than the overall market.

Nokia’s Network Infrastructure segment posted 12% year-over-year growth in Q2 2026, led by gains in Optical and IP Networks, boosted by the integration of Infinera, which Nokia acquired in February 2025.